Brighton and Hove is to become the first British city to prohibit art that incites racist, homophobic or sectarian violence.

Proposals to ban from the city’s pubs, clubs and galleries any exhibition, music or performance that provokes hatred of minorities are expected to be ratified next week as part of a review of the council’s licensing policy. Failure to comply could lead to a venue losing its licence.

Freedom of speech campaigners questioned the right of councils to police public taste in this way, on the day that two High Court judges ruled that Jerry Springer – The Opera was not blasphemous (see story below).

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: “Whether it’s Jerry the opera or Jerry the rapper, we must ensure that we are preventing criminal offences and not just offence itself.”

The catalyst for Brighton and Hove council’s initiative is the “murder music” targeting gay men that has been popularised by Jamaican dance-hall reggae artists such as Buju Banton, Beenie Man and Sizzla.

Last year the Concorde 2 Club in Brighton cancelled a gig by Banton after pressure from the city council, police and Brighton's large gay community.

Artists shown to have incited hatred face criminal prosection under the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 and the Government’s proposed “gay hatred” law. Councils, however, have no powers to prevent concerts, which is why Brighton and Hove city councillors are expected to include the ban as part of an overhaul of the city’s licensing policy, which expires in January.

Dee Simson, who chairs the council’s licensing committee, said: “This is not a policy which is to be used to harm freedom of speech, but it will be used in really extreme cases to stop the playing of what’s loosely termed murder music. “When Buju Banton was due to play here, we didn’t have any explicit policy in place to stop him from playing; it was only through the goodwill of the venue that the gig was cancelled. We have a large gay and lesbian community in Brighton and Hove and we want to protect people from facing such hatred.”

He added: “I’m a firm believer in freedom of speech but I’m against the incitement of hatred against minorities.”

The majority of cases covered by the new powers are likely to be retrospective rather than preemptive, a spokesman for the council said. “Except in the case of high-profile artists like Banton we’re unlikely to know about it [the potential for incitement] in advance,” he said.

Peter Tatchell, of the gay rights group OutRage!, said: “Brighton council is to be congratulated for its decision. Free speech does not include the right to advocate the killing of other human beings.”

Banton’s breakthrough hit in the UK was Boom Bye Bye in 1992, which apparently advocated the shooting of gay men.

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